David Beckham: "I like to see a woman before I smell her"

We caught up with Becks, who told us what it takes to make him turn his head...

David Beckham's Instinct fragrance has been around for 10 years, and in that time has sold two bottles every minute. That's a lot of bottles. It makes sense then that he's now launching Instinct Gold Edition, which comes in a (wait for it) gold bottle and has some lovely notes of juniper and basil added to the original mix, making for quite a fresh-yet-sexy blend. A bit like the rather lovely David, who, rocking a lumberjack beard and a slick black suit, gave us these nuggets on style, class, and losing his cool….

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How not to over-groom

"I think grooming, and your approach to it - deciding what you want to look and smell like, what creams you want to use - all of that stuff shows off your individuality, and I'm proud to maybe have inspired some men in that respect. But for a while there, men went through a stage of over-grooming – I may have been guilty of that myself [laughs]. It's calmed down a little bit now, hence the whole beard thing.

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"People think I carefully plan my image changes but that's not true – I just do what I'm comfortable with on any given day. I could wake up in the morning and decide to shave all my hair off. Maybe not tomorrow, though - I'm sticking with the beard.

"I'm a Taurus so I'm obstinate, and the more people turn around to me and tell me to shave it off, or that it looks terrible, the more it makes me want to keep it."

How to be a cool dad

"I'm still a cool dad to my younger kids. My eldest is nearly 16 and he doesn't think I'm very cool at all, but then I go into my room and everything's on the floor and I know he's been in there – I'm a really tidy person so I know it wasn't me. Maybe Brooklyn walking around in my clothes is him admitting I'm a little bit cool after all.

"The one time I was cool in Brooklyn's eyes was when I bought him some Kanye shoes – for about five hours he thought I was cool. Then he realised I had a pair as well and that killed it.

"I do get style inspiration from my kids. Brooklyn and Cruz are constantly coming up with their own looks, and Romeo – well, he's Romeo. He looks good in everything. I also take tips form Victoria because obviously it's her industry now. She's always been great at decision-making and obviously, when you're married… you listen to your wife. So I listen to my wife. Most of the time."

How to wear scent

"Scent-wise, what's attractive on a woman for me tends to be something that is not that strong. It's nice to actually see the person before you smell them. That's the scent advice I always give to men as well; make sure your fragrance doesn't walk in the door before you do. Do not over-spritz.

"The one women's scent that turns my head is Amarige by Givenchy. My gran wore it all her life – she passed away a few years ago but every time I smell it, it reminds me of her."

"It's wonderful when a fragrances defines a person, but there are so many great ones around that for me it's been more about different scents for different periods in my life. My first was Calvin Klein Obsession – that was my grandad's, it was in his cabinet and I just used it when I could. So that was the first part of my kind of introduction to this world. And then when I started going to school I liked Davidoff Cool Water – I think I wore it for my first date. And after that I wore Calvin Klein Eternity."

How to do tattoos

"Out of all my tattoos, the one that probably caused the most controversy was the one on my neck. People saw me as a little bit of a mummy's boy and then I suddenly had this big black tattoo there and that kind of changed the perception of me a little bit. But it's personal to me and that's the advice I always give about tattoos: make sure it's something that's meaningful to you. Because eventually, your body will change and something might not look so great in ten years, but at least it will have meaning. Also, don't get any done when you're drunk."

"I'm sure I will have another tattoo. Again it's not something that I plan, but something will happen, with Victoria or the kids or in my life and I'll decide to add one."

How to be a man like David

"My best bit of 'girl' advice I give to my boys is to be a gentleman. Open doors, that kind of thing – women appreciate it. I learnt it form my parents and my grandparents and I try to live by it, and I'm passing it on to my boys. They listen – most of the time."

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